Prosecutors Ordered To Turn Over Interviews In Case Tied To Daley Nephew

David Koschman, 21, died in May 2004, 11 days after he was punched and hit his head on a curb during a confrontation on Rush Street. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, news reports indicate Richard J. Vanecko, a nephew of Mayor Richard M. Daley, threw the punch. (Photo Credit: CBS)

CHICAGO (CBS) — The family of a Mount Prospect man who died eight years ago after a confrontation with Mayor Richard M. Daley’s nephew has scored a legal victory.

As WBBM Newsradio’s Bob Conway reports, at issue were transcripts of interviews with witnesses to the incident in which Richard J. Vanecko allegedly punched David Koschman, who fell and hit his head, and died a few days later.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office had refused to hand over the transcripts to attorneys for Koschman’s mother, who want a special prosecutor named to investigate the case.

State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, who objects to the motion for a special prosecutor, has said releasing the transcripts would interfere with investigations being conducted by her office and city Inspector General Joseph Ferguson, the Sun-Times reported.

But on Wednesday, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Michael P. Toomin ordered Alvarez to turn over the paperwork, and her office has reportedly complied, the Sun-Times reported.

Early on the morning of April 25, 2004, Vanecko and Koschman reportedly had a confrontation outside a bar in the Rush and Division Street nightclub district. The quarrel allegedly prompted Vanecko to punch Koschman.

The case was reopened and closed by Chicago Police last year, without criminal charges. Police said they determined Vanecko acted in self-defense.

Detectives reportedly determined Koschman was the aggressor, based on witness accounts.

But those witnesses later said they never told police Koschman was the aggressor.

Koschman’s family’s petition for a special prosecutor noted irregularities in the investigation, including false official reports and a case file that went missing, and says the investigation might have been influenced by Vanecko’s relationship to Mayor Daley. The petition said the irregularities require an independent investigation.